Former UFC flyweight champion Alexa Grasso began her run to get her title back against Natalia Silva at UFC 315 on Saturday night with her rival defending the belt in the main event.
Grasso (16-4-1) was coming off her first loss since 2019. Going 1-1-1 in three bouts with new champion Valentina Shevchenko the Mexican star gets a fresh matchup in Silva. Grasso holds wins over Shevchenko, Viviane Araujo, Joanne Wood, Maycee Barber and Karolina Kowalkiewicz to name a few.
Silva (18-5-1) has been spectacular in her quick rise up the rankings. She brought her 6-fight UFC win streak into the fight with Grasso. Wins over Araujo, Jessica Andrade, Andrea Lee and Jasmine Jasudavicius got her the bout with Grasso in Montreal.
Round 1 Silva came out with the patented quick movement. Grasso with the high guard and jabs. Her timing was on point early on to counter Silva’s activity.
Silva threw a head kick, missed, slipped and fell, and Grasso flew in for a takedown. Silva stuffed it, but now she had to think about the takedown. Grasso had issues with the speed and attacks of Silva. She seemed stuck in first gear, but still landing her jabs.
Round 2 Grasso came out a bit more aggressive with the jabs, but still very measured and having issues dealing with the footwork of Silva. Silva landed kicks to the lead leg which Grasso tried to catch, but couldn’t follow up with a shot.
Grasso clearly wanted to grappled in this one, but the activity of Silva is just way too much to deal with. Silva landed a clean left hook and then got out of the way of return fire. Her game plan was clearly on point to deal with the former champ’s strength.
Silva continued her lateral movement until Grasso got close enough to rush in with a flurry. Landing shots everywhere she ended the round strong.
Round 3 Grasso came out much more aggressive knowing she needed to make this an ugly fight. Silva wouldn’t cooperate though and continued her stick-and-move game. Grasso shot in and got Silva to the fence, but couldn’t take her down.
Grasso did well to cut the cage off, but then waited way too long to do something with it. Continued to allow Silva to land and move. Silva got fancy with it under 1 minute going with spinning attacks.
The former champ chased and chased and looked for a finish, but wasn’t able to. Natalia Silva scored the biggest win of her career.
Official Result: Natalia Silva def. Alexa Grasso via Unanimous Decision (30-27×3)
